Management of pre-invasive cervical cancer in low-resource setting

Cervical cancer is one of the health burdens in many developing countries. The advanced knowledge in the past decade reassured the important role of human papillomavirus as the necessary cause of cervical cancer and makes a clear understanding of its natural history. Cervical cancer has a long period of pre-invasive stage, and only a small proportion of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) that can progress to be an invasive lesion. Appropriate management of CIN can prevent invasive cervical cancer. The contemporary treatment of CIN is more conservative and requires effective follow-up process. However inappropriate management of CIN is still be found at the international and national survey of less developed countries. Although no apparent superior surgical technique for treating CIN, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and cryotherapy are fascinated for the low-resource setting. Other alternative approach, which eliminates cytology and colposcopy may be considered in the ultrashort- resource setting with a high prevalence of cervical cancer. In this article, the contemporary knowledge about the natural history of cervical cancer, especially the implication of human papillomavirus (HPV) for pre-invasive cervical cancer, is summarized. The current approaches for treatment of CIN are reviewed from the perspective of low-resource settings. The various strategies for management approaches are demonstrated, and the cost-effectiveness is discussed. The pattern of pre-invasive cervical cancer management in developing countries, including in the south of Thailand is exhibited, and the single-visit service for cervical cancer prevention in the northeast is challenged.